The Act of Waiting

“Ma’am you will have to wait.” Those six words for some reason cause me to be in an instant funk. I absolutely hate waiting and I know I am not the only one because I watch people drive off at the drive thru, walk out of retail store lines, get angry at the attendants in public places as a response to having to wait. Patience perhaps for most is not a quality we possess, at least not in abundance. I admit my shortcomings. I guess that’s why God is teaching me this principle “the act waiting”. It actually sounds like a contradictory statement. Waiting seems like a rather passive activity, you just sit there right? But why is it called an “act”? Well it actually is a process, more than just sitting and doing nothing.

What should we do while we are waiting on God? How do we wait on God? I don’t claim to know all the answers, but I can share a few things I am learning as I go through the process myself. First of all, I am realizing more and more waiting (in most cases) is inevitable. We read in Psalm 27:14 we read “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” We might as well quit the complaining and understand that we have been called to wait. No one is exempt! At some point in your walk with God you will find yourself waiting on an answer, a breakthrough, a way out. 

Another thing I am learning is that there is a [specific] purpose for the waiting. Perhaps God wants to develop something in us like patience. He may need to strengthen us or mature us so that we are better able to handle that "thing" we have been praying about.  I may not know your specific reason for waiting, but I do know that if God called you to wait, your job is not to worry about "Why?. You must focus on the process, the “act of waiting” and let God do what He needs to do in you (and me too!). Don't give up on the process! Continue to seek Him. Continue to Pray. Continue to Press on.

As I am in the midst of a struggle in my life (as most are), I am believing God in my situation. I am trusting that He will come through.  Is it tough waiting on God to fulfill His promise? Yes! But I know there is a purpose for the waiting.  I am growing during the process. While I wait He is changing me!

 ________________________________________________________

~ But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

~ Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off. Psalm 37:34